Motor-vehicle.



R.' HUF?. MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED 00T.28, 1910.

Patented June 11, 1912.

y, Uran sra-rus PATENTv OFFICE.

RUSSLL HUFF., OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO' PACKARD MOTOR CAR COM'- v PANY, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

i Moron-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1912.

Application filed October 28, 1910. Serial No. 589,544.

the vehicle. The arrangement is such thatthe number plate is readily observed from the rear of thevehicle and is illuminated by the rays of the tail lamp opposite.

The police regulations of some States and municipalities require motor vehicles to carry a plate or tag-so attached to the vehicle that it is rigid therewith and Vis in a position to be observed from the rear of the vehicle and to be illuminated at night. Various kinds of brackets have been devised for securing these results, and in most cases the license plate is mounted adjacent the tail lamp of the vehicle, and in some instances is secured upon the lamp itself. Most of these devices have been foundl objectionable in that the lamp andvtag are not properly protected from dirt and mud thrown by'therear wheels and Where the tag is attached to the lamp an unusual strain is placed upon the lamp structure and the lamp bracke In the present invention the objections to former devices are overcome, the lamp and licensel late'are both protected from the dirt 'andJ mud, each of these attachments is supported independently of the other, and the rear of the vehicle is given a symmetrical and pleasing appearance.

Usually the license plate consists of a rectangular sheet metal plate having an enameled surface containing the number of the vehicle. This surfaceV is, therefore, more or less brittle and trouble is sometimes experienced in bolting it to its supporting bracket in that the drilling 'of the holes or the clamping of the bolts cracks the enamel and obliterates the ligures. This objection is overcome in the present invention by securing a woo'd or other non-metallic support to the license plate bracket and fastening the license plate proper to the wood y 4support by a number of small screws near its edges.

Other objects than those suggested above will appear from the specilications and drawings forming a 'part of this application, in which- Figure y1 is a rear view of a motor vehicle embodying this Iinvention; Fig. 2 is a'plan viewA of the rear part of lthe vehicle shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the licenseplate and its Asupport with parts in section; and Fig. 4 is'an enlarged sectionv on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

On thepframe 10 of the motor vehicle shownV in the drawings the body 11 is mounted and is providedv with rear mud guards or fenders 12 on both sidesof the body immediately over the rear wheels 13. Asappears particularly in Fig. 2 the guards 12 extend rearwardly beyond the rea-r of the body as at 14 thereby forming a further protection against mud and dirt thrown by the .wheels 13 and also forming supports :for

the tail lamp 15 and the license plate. or

number tag 16. It will be understood that these guards are suitably secured to the body 11 by brackets or otherwise so that the guards are rigid with the body.

The tail lamp 15 is preferably formed with two lenses arranged at' right angles, the rlens 17 usually being red to project a red light rearwardly and the lens 18 in this case is clear thereby casting light rays transversely of the vehicle and toward its other side. On the opposite extension 14 is arranged an angle bracket 19 secured to the guard as by the bolts 20 and having a wood or other non-metallic support 21 secured to its upright arm as by countersunk b olts 22. On the face of the support 21 the license plate or number1 tag 16 is secured by a series of screws 23 extending around its edges. Thus the enameled pate .is entirely out of contact with the metal bracket and liability of cracking the enamel is reduced.

Upon reference to the drawings it will be observed that the license plate 16 -is set on the extension 14 sothat its face is at a slight angle to the transverse axis of the vehicle, whereby the observation of. the number from the rear of the vehicle is in no ioo way interfered with but the face of the plate is turned suiciently toward the tail lamp 15 to cause the rays from the lens 18 vto illuminate the plate, thereby making the latter visible at night from the rear of the vehicle. Moreover, the arrangement of the lamp and license plate on top of the extension of the mud guards prevents the dirti .of the vehicle, and a lamp mounted onand directly above the extended part of the other said guard Withl one of its lenses facing said license, plate, scribed.

forv the purpose de- 2. In a' motor vehicle, the combination With the body' and a fender or guard mounted on the bodyat each side thereof and extending rearwardly beyond the body, of a one of said fenders with its face at a slight angle to the transverse axis of the. vehicle whereby' the face of said plate may be 0bserved from the rear of the vehicle and at the same4 time may be illuminated from' a point transversely across the vehicle, 4and a .lamp mounted on and directly above the other said fenderwvith one of its lenses facing saidplate whereby/the latter may be illuminated. 1

In testimony whereof I aix my signa-ture in presence of two Witnesses.

' RUSSELL HUFF.

elitnesses: 'f

W. H. FINoxEL, Jr., C. 1. DALE. v

l Washington, D, C.

.license plate mounted on and directly above x Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Oommissioner of Patents, 

